9/04/2009 @ 6:00AM

Washington's Looming Legislation

Next week, the nation’s capital gets jolted from its annual summertime slumber.

President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress Wednesday to renew his push for health care reform. Earlier that day, the Supreme Court will hold a rare, out-of-term rehearing of a case that has implications for the way corporations finance political campaigns.

But the real story for the remainder of the year will take place on Capitol Hill where Democrats will attempt the ambitious trifecta of reforming health care, and creating a system to curb climate change, while overhauling the nation’s financial regulatory reform system. They’ll be lucky to get even one of these items complete by the time they break in December, and undeniably, health care is the priority.

But other issues lurk in the shadows, legislation crucial to business that’s getting far less attention these days. A look:

Appropriations: Arguably, Congress’ most important task is making sure the government has enough money to keep running. Lawmakers will spend the next weeks scrambling to pass appropriations bills for fiscal year 2010, but there’s no way they’ll everything done by Sept. 30, the end of FY2009. Aside from health care reform, this will be Congress’ main task between now and December, as the Senate has only approved four of the 12 appropriations bills.

Defense spending: Perhaps the most contentious of the spending bills now in play. Before leaving in July, the House of Representatives passed a $636 billion defense spending bill, cutting additional funding for some programs, like the F-22 fighter jet, made by
Lockheed Martin
and
Boeing
. But the Senate hasn’t acted yet, and President Obama vowed to veto any defense bill loaded with pork. With jobs on the line and a midterm election ahead, expect a showdown.

Debt limit: In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said it is “critically important that Congress act” to raise the government’s $12.1 trillion statutory debt limit “as soon as possible.” Geithner didn’t suggest a new level, but he said Uncle Sam could be maxed out by mid-October. Lawmakers will act quickly, with much grumbling from Republicans and conservative Democrats. It could also affect spending bills.

Union membership: Since the beginning of the year, the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to join unions, has been the lobbying focus for organized labor. They’ve met a formidable wall of opposition, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A compromise may be in the works, and you’ll undoubtedly keep hearing about the debate, but for now, Congress has bigger issues to tackle.

“I don’t think there’s any part of this legislation that will be acceptable to Senate Republicans,” says the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Telecom: Many telecom issues have been pushed aside to make way for health care and other pending Democratic priorities, but some things are likely to pass. Among them: a bill that allows digital broadcast satellite providers to continue to import network signals to rural areas. If lawmakers don’t act, providers lose this ability as of Dec. 31. Mostly likely Congress will take action. That’s good news for providers like
DirecTV
and
DISH
.

Executive compensation: Technically, it’s part of financial regulatory reform. But executive compensation has been a hot issue ever since Congress ponied up $700 billion in bailout funds for the financial sector last year. In June, the House approved a bill to give shareholders a “say on pay” for executives. It also requires the biggest financial companies to disclose their incentive-based compensation practices. The Senate is expected to take up the bill this fall.

Estate tax: President Obama wants to see a permanent extension of the estate tax, but that’s unlikely to happen this year. Instead, look for Congress to give it a one-year extension, as it’s slated to expire for a year in 2010. For 2009, estates valued at less than $3.5 million are exempted from the tax, which has a maximum rate of 45%.